POP­U­LAR WOOD SPECIES

Tall Chi­nese grass is en­vi­ron­men­tally friendly; fea­tures dis­tinc­tive grain that shows the “nodes” of the stalks

PROS: A dis­tinc­tive mod­ern look, and it’s kind to the planet

CONS: Doesn’t sand well; very rigid, so sub­floor must be per­fectly flat DOU­GLAS FIR Pop­u­lar for its straight grain, the color varies be­tween brown and white on each board; great for rus­tic set­tings

PROS: Like pine, the look is per­fect for rus­tic homes, but typ­i­cally has straighter grain